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Am I feeding him right?

ALParki

ALParki

New member
Hi guys.

Nagini is around 5/6 months old now and has been on two pinkies per feed everv5 days. I went to buy him more food and thought I'd but some sm. Fuzzies to try him out with. Last night, I gave him one and he took a very good 25mins to swallow which worried me (see pic)

2zgdds5.jpg


Anyhoo, it's been 24 hours now and he still his the giagantic lump midway and has been in his cold shelter since, again, this unusual for him. It seems the pinkies are gulped down within two seconds and the lumo goes within a few hours and sm. fuxzies are too large. Opinions? I don't want the poor bugger regurging.

Extra info: weighed him 24 hours after eating fuzzie: 26grams
 
I don't think he is too small for the fuzzies.
Everything sounds normal to me.
The first time they switch to a larger meal, it will take them longer to swallow. Next time it will be faster.
 
AliCat37 said:
I don't think he is too small for the fuzzies.
Everything sounds normal to me.
The first time they switch to a larger meal, it will take them longer to swallow. Next time it will be faster.
Click to expand...

*sigh of relief* thank you :) I'll try him again in a week to give him more time to digest.
 
Protip: No need to weigh your snake only 24 hours after feeding a newly sized prey item. This means you would've had to handle it and causes unnecessary stress right after feeding a larger mouse which could induce regurgitation.
 
If he's made it 24 hours without spitting it back up, he's probably pretty good. If one is going to regurge from too large of a meal, it will usually be within the first half a day give or take. Most regurges after a day are more often than not the result of poor husbandry or health, like low temperatures.

Judging from the picture it doesn't look like too much either. As for the bulge, that's good. Being moderately active slender body snakes, corns have higher metabolisms than other snakes, so the rule of thumb is generally a 1.5x the girth of the body (until adulthood at which point there's no reason to move beyond adult mice). Food that size will naturally leave a pretty hefty bulge. And like AliCat pointed out, the first feed on larger prey tends to take a bit longer as they figure out they have to crush it more and put more effort into getting it down.

Isis' first jumbo rat took her a good 30-45 minutes to get down as she couldn't quite figure out how to get past the legs/feet at first.

As far as weighing... shortly after eating is probably the worst time to weigh a snake for various reasons. Unnecessary handling and stress, and inaccurate weight because they still have a full belly. Best to weigh right before feeding if you are trying to keep accurate records.
 
TyeW said:
Protip: No need to weigh your snake only 24 hours after feeding a newly sized prey item. This means you would've had to handle it and causes unnecessary stress right after feeding a larger mouse which could induce regurgitation.
Click to expand...

I needed to weigh him anyway, just happened to be a day after feeding. I wouldn't normally have done it while he's still digesting but I borrowed scales for a day not even thinking. Luckily, I didn't have to move him it was a straight pick up onto the dish. Thanks for the advice though :) I agree, It was a daft idea.
 
Nythain said:
If he's made it 24 hours without spitting it back up, he's probably pretty good. If one is going to regurge from too large of a meal, it will usually be within the first half a day give or take. Most regurges after a day are more often than not the result of poor husbandry or health, like low temperatures.

Judging from the picture it doesn't look like too much either. As for the bulge, that's good. Being moderately active slender body snakes, corns have higher metabolisms than other snakes, so the rule of thumb is generally a 1.5x the girth of the body (until adulthood at which point there's no reason to move beyond adult mice). Food that size will naturally leave a pretty hefty bulge. And like AliCat pointed out, the first feed on larger prey tends to take a bit longer as they figure out they have to crush it more and put more effort into getting it down.

Isis' first jumbo rat took her a good 30-45 minutes to get down as she couldn't quite figure out how to get past the legs/feet at first.

As far as weighing... shortly after eating is probably the worst time to weigh a snake for various reasons. Unnecessary handling and stress, and inaccurate weight because they still have a full belly. Best to weigh right before feeding if you are trying to keep accurate records.
Click to expand...

Aye, like I just said it was a stupid time to weigh him really. I was mainly doing it for the chart guide on feeding. Silly any *slaps wrist*

Anyhoo, that's great advice, thank you! I'm reassured now. I'm just a bit panicky with him being my first snake and I want him to be as happy and healthy as possible. I'll leave him for another day or two till handling but he seems ok. Dreading cleaning up his 'mess' after it passes through his guts though haha!
 
TheFrogman said:
damn girl, he looks great, Crescent is a whimp, miss ya
Click to expand...

Miss you too! I'm not on Skype that much anymore :( ill pop on later on and try and catch you. And thanks! And don't be silly, Cres is a handsome little fella'... He's Nagini's far away brother lol
 
ALParki said:
Miss you too! I'm not on Skype that much anymore :( ill pop on later on and try and catch you. And thanks! And don't be silly, Cres is a handsome little fella'... He's Nagini's far away brother lol
Click to expand...

Ha Ha Ha, yes, step brother
I left you a message, just check it for the message,
 
I'd be cautious with small fuzzies. (7g) I generally start them at 30 grams. Pick out the very smallest fuzzy you can find next time, and cut 4-5 slits down the back.

You're really not safe from a regurge till the fourth or fifth day after the meal. I probably see them most on the second or third day.

It always takes a snake longer to swallow the next size prey item. 25 minutes seems a bit long, but 10-15 is definitely within the normal range.

Going by the "no larger than 1.5 times the diameter of the snake at its widest point" rule of thumb, if you _think_ the prey item looks too big, if you have doubts, it's always safest to listen to your gut and feed smaller, even if it means a delay in feeding. AND you can always cut a fuzzy in half, or cut the head off, to make it slightly smaller if you just can't get the appropriate size.
 
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